Meet record helps Alcide to SEC day-one lead

COLUMBIA, Mo. (Univ. of Ark.) - With the help of an SEC Championships meet record in the high jump and two additional personal-best marks, University of Arkansas senior Makeba Alcide is in first place after day one of the heptathlon at the conference meet.

Through the first four events of the two-day competition, Alcide has 3,756 points which improves upon her own school record for a day-one score.

"I had an excellent day one with two PRs and a consistent high jump," Alcide said. "I was a little off in the shot put because of the weather. I had to throw in my tennis shoes which I had never done before but it was a good day overall. My aim is to qualify for the World Championships and I'm on pace to do that. Hopefully, the weather is good tomorrow to get a good long jump. I just need to stay consistent."

Alcide opened the day with a personal-best performance in the 100-meter hurdles. Running in the second of five sections, she ran to a time of 13.60 which was worth 1,036 points in the first event of the two-day competition. With her hurdle performance, Alcide replaced her previous lifetime best of 13.87 which she set at the 2012 NACAC U-23 Championships in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The Razorback senior followed up with a record-breaking effort in the high jump. Alcide won the event with a final clearance of 1.88m/6-2, establishing the SEC Championships meet record in the process. She replaced the old mark of 1.86m/6-1.25 set by Levern Spencer of Georgia in 2007. Alcide's performance also broke the Audrey J. Walton Stadium facility record and equaled the school mark she set earlier this season at the John McDonnell Combined Events.

Competing in wet conditions, Alcide had a day's best throw of 12.42m/40-9 to finish third in the shot put. The throw equaled the third-best throw of her career and the best she's had during an SEC Championship meet, seven inches beyond the mark of 40-2 she had at last year's meet.

Alcide closed out the day with another personal-best effort, this time at 200 meters. Running in section one of two, the Castries, St. Lucia, native posted a time of 24.31 to replace her previous best of 24.38 which she ran earlier this year at Texas Relays. At the end of day one of the heptathlon, Alcide leads the field by 201 points with Erica Bougard of Mississippi State in second place with 3,555 points.

In addition to the completion of the heptathlon, Friday's schedule will also feature preliminary action at 200 meters, 800 meters and in the 400-meter hurdles. Points will also be up for grabs with the final of the 10,000 meters which will include five Razorbacks. Alcide is also scheduled to compete in the open high jump competition Saturday afternoon.

The 2013 SEC Championships will be streamed live by ESPN3 on Saturday, May 11 from 3:40-6:45 p.m., and Sunday, May 12 from 2:50-6:45 p.m. Competition outside of the ESPN3 coverage windows will be made available on MUTigers.com. The 2013 SEC Outdoor Championships will air as part of a 90-minute show on ESPNU on Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m.